noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈblækˌmeɪl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ækmeɪl
CMU ARPABET:B L AE1 K M EY2 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The extortion of money or favors by threats of public accusation, critique, or exposure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Compromising material that can be used to extort someone.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Compromising material that can be used to extort someone.
A type of roleplay where the submissive shares information that may be exploited by the dominant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, uncountable
Topics: BDSM, lifestyle, sexuality
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A form of protection money (or corn, cattle, etc.) anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to the allies of robbers in order to be spared from pillage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Black rent; rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which was paid in silver.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: England, historical, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To extort money or favors from (a person) by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, such as injury to reputation, distress of mind, false accusation, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
He blackmailed a businesswoman by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To speak ill of someone; to defame someone.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Kenya
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting information
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: extortion
9
verb
Meaning 9
obtain through threats
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: extort
10
verb
Meaning 10
exert pressure on someone through threats
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: blackjack, pressure
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: influence, act upon, work
History
Etymology
From black + mail (“a piece of money”). Compare Middle English blak rente (“a type of blackmail levied by Irish chieftains”). The word is variously derived from the tribute paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to border reivers in return for immunity from raids and other harassment. This tribute was paid in goods or labour, in Latin reditus nigri (“black mail”); the opposite is blanche firmes or reditus albi (“white rent”), denoting payment by silver. McKay derives it from two Scottish Gaelic words blàthaich, pronounced (the th silent) bl-aich, "to protect" and màl (“tribute, payment”). He notes that the practice was common in the Scottish Highlands as well as the Borders. More likely, from black + Middle English mal, male, maile (“a payment, rent, tribute”), from Old English māl (“speech, contract, agreement, lawsuit, terms, bargaining”), from Old Norse mál (“agreement, speech, lawsuit”); related to Old English mæðel (“meeting, council”), mæl (“speech”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌻 (maþl, “meeting place”), from Proto-Germanic *maþlą (“gathering, agreement”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to give advice, measure”). From the practice of freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against Scottish farmers. Black from the evil of the practice. Expanded c. 1826 to any type of extortion money. Compare silver mail (“rent paid in money”) (1590s); buttock mail (“fine imposed for fornication”) (1530s, Scottish).
Across languages
Translations
160 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
shantazh
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Arabic:
اِبْتِزَاز
(ibtizāz)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Armenian:
շորթում
(šortʻum)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Armenian:
շանտաժ
(šantaž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Azerbaijani:
şantaj
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Basque:
xantaia
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Belarusian:
шанта́ж
(šantáž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Belarusian:
вымага́льніцтва
(vymahálʹnictva)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Belarusian:
вымага́нне
(vymahánnje)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Belarusian:
вымага́ньне
(vymahánʹnje)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Bengali:
ব্ল্যাকমেইল
(blêkmeil)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Bulgarian:
изну́дване
(iznúdvane)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Bulgarian:
шанта́ж
(šantáž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Catalan:
xantatge
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Chinese Mandarin:
勒索
(lèsuǒ)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Chinese Mandarin:
敲詐 /敲诈
(qiāozhà)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Chinese Mandarin:
誅求 /诛求
(zhūqiú)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Chinese Mandarin:
逼勒
(bīlè)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Chinese Mandarin:
要挾 /要挟
(yāoxié)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Chinese Mandarin:
訛詐 /讹诈
(ézhà)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Czech:
vydírání
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Danish:
afpresning
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Danish:
pengeafpresning
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Dutch:
chantage
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Dutch:
afpersing
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Esperanto:
ĉantaĝo
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Estonian:
väljapressimine
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Estonian:
šantaaž
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Finnish:
kiristys
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
French:
chantage
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Galician:
chantaxe
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Georgian:
შანტაჟი
(šanṭaži)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
German:
Erpressung
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
German:
Erpressig
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Greek:
εκβιασμός
(ekviasmós)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Ancient Greek:
ἐκβιασμός
(ekbiasmós)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Hebrew:
סְחִיטַת
(s'khitá)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Hindi:
भयादोहन
(bhayādohan)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Hindi:
ब्लैकमेल
(blaikmel)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Hindi:
धौंस
(dhauns)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Hungarian:
zsarolás
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Icelandic:
fjárkúgun
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Ido:
extorso
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Indonesian:
pemerasan
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Irish:
dúmhál
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Italian:
ricatto
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Japanese:
恐喝
(kyōkatsu)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Japanese:
強請
(kyōsei)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Kazakh:
бопса
(bopsa)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Kazakh:
шантаж
(şantaj)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Khmer:
បស័យ្ហគ្រាស
(paʼsayyĕəʼhaʼ kriəh)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Korean:
협박
(hyeopbak)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Korean:
강청
(gangcheong)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Kyrgyz:
шантаж
(şantaj)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Lao:
ການຂູ່ເອົາເງິນ
(kān khū ē ʼ ngœn)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Latvian:
šantāža
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Lithuanian:
šantažas
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Luxembourgish:
Chantage
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Macedonian:
уцена
(ucena)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Malagasy:
soloky
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Malay:
peras ugut
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Maltese:
rikatt
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Mongolian:
сүрдүүлэг
(sürdüüleg)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Mongolian:
шантаж
(šantaž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Norwegian Bokmål:
utpressing
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Norwegian Bokmål:
utpresning
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Iranian Persian:
باجگیری
(bâj-giri)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Iranian Persian:
شانْتاژ
(šântâž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Iranian Persian:
تَهْدید
(tahdid)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Polish:
szantaż
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Portuguese:
extorsão
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Portuguese:
chantagem
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Romanian:
șantaj
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Russian:
шанта́ж
(šantáž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Russian:
вымога́тельство
(vymogátelʹstvo)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Russian:
рэ́кет
(rɛ́ket)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Scots:
blackmail
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Scottish Gaelic:
màl dubh
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Serbo-Croatian:
у̏цена
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Serbo-Croatian:
у̏цјена
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Serbo-Croatian:
ȕcena
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Serbo-Croatian:
ȕcjena
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Slovak:
vydieranie
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Slovene:
izsiljevanje
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Spanish:
chantaje
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Spanish:
extorsión
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Swedish:
utpressning
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Tajik:
шантаж
(šantaž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Tajik:
таҳдид
(tahdid)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Tatar:
шантаж
(şantaj)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Thai:
การรีดเอาทรัพย์
(gaan-rîit-ao-sáp)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Thai:
รีดเอาทรัพย์
(rîit-ao-sáp)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Thai:
แบล็กเมล์
(blɛ́k-mee)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Turkish:
şantaj
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Turkmen:
şantaž
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Ukrainian:
шанта́ж
(šantáž)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Ukrainian:
вимага́ння
(vymahánnja)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Urdu:
بِلَیک میل
(bilaik mel)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Urdu:
دَھون٘س
(dha͠us)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Uyghur:
شانتاژ
(shantazh)
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Uzbek:
shantaj
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Vietnamese:
tống tiền
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Welsh:
blacmel
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Welsh:
bygythbris
— extortion of money by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure
Arabic:
اِبْتِزَازَ
(ibtizāza)
— to extort money
Armenian:
շանտաժի ենթարկել
(šantaži entʻarkel)
— to extort money
Belarusian:
шантажы́раваць
(šantažýravacʹ)
— to extort money
Belarusian:
вымага́ць
(vymahácʹ)
— to extort money
Bulgarian:
изну́двам
(iznúdvam)
— to extort money
Bulgarian:
изну́дя
(iznúdja)
— to extort money
Bulgarian:
шантажи́рам
(šantažíram)
— to extort money
Chinese Mandarin:
勒索
(lèsuǒ)
— to extort money
Chinese Mandarin:
敲詐 /敲诈
(qiāozhà)
— to extort money
Chinese Mandarin:
誅求 /诛求
(zhūqiú)
— to extort money
Chinese Mandarin:
逼勒
(bīlè)
— to extort money
Chinese Mandarin:
要挾 /要挟
(yāoxié)
— to extort money
Chinese Mandarin:
訛詐 /讹诈
(ézhà)
— to extort money
Czech:
vydírat
— to extort money
Danish:
afpresse
— to extort money
Dutch:
chanteren
— to extort money
Esperanto:
ĉantaĝi
— to extort money
Finnish:
kiristää
— to extort money
French:
faire du chantage
— to extort money
French:
faire chanter
— to extort money
German:
erpressen
— to extort money
Greek:
εκβιάζω
(ekviázo)
— to extort money
Ancient Greek:
ἐκβιάζω
(ekbiázō)
— to extort money
Ancient Greek:
συκοφαντέω
(sukophantéō)
— to extort money
Hebrew:
סָחַט
(sakhát)
— to extort money
Hungarian:
zsarol
— to extort money
Icelandic:
kúga fé út úr e-m
— to extort money
Ido:
extorsar
— to extort money
Italian:
ricattare
— to extort money
Japanese:
せびる
(sebiru)
— to extort money
Japanese:
強要する
(kyōyō suru)
— to extort money
Korean:
공갈하다
(gonggalhada)
— to extort money
Luxembourgish:
erpressen
— to extort money
Macedonian:
уценува
(ucenuva)
— to extort money
Macedonian:
уцени
(uceni)
— to extort money
Norwegian Bokmål:
utpresse
— to extort money
Polish:
szantażować
— to extort money
Portuguese:
chantagear
— to extort money
Portuguese:
extorquir
— to extort money
Romanian:
a șantaja
— to extort money
Russian:
шантажи́ровать
(šantažírovatʹ)
— to extort money
Russian:
вымога́ть
(vymogátʹ)
— to extort money
Serbo-Croatian:
уце́нити
— to extort money
Serbo-Croatian:
уције́нити
— to extort money
Serbo-Croatian:
ucéniti
— to extort money
Serbo-Croatian:
ucijéniti
— to extort money
Slovak:
vydierať
— to extort money
Slovene:
izsiljevati
— to extort money
Spanish:
chantajear
— to extort money
Swedish:
utpressa
— to extort money
Swedish:
pressa ut
— to extort money
Thai:
รีดเอาทรัพย์
(rîit-ao-sáp)
— to extort money
Ukrainian:
шантажува́ти
(šantažuváty)
— to extort money
